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Now the question was how was I going to train so I could complete this coveted race?  I met Dot Burnworth, an accomplished triathlete, at MCC in the fall of 2008.  She had also signed up for Lake Placid and shared a book she successfully used called  beIRONfit by Don Fink. The whole Ironman relies on aerobic or fat burning - you will not have enough glycogen reserves left in your muscles after you complete 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 miles of biking to complete the 26.2 mile marathon unless you train mostly at the lower heart rate zones to maximize your aerobic capacity. So this is what I did. Starting my official 30 weeks of Don Fink's competitive training program on December 29, 2008 through July 25, 2009, I logged 78 hours of swimming completing 115 miles, 32 hours of spinning inside, 135 hours on the bike outside completing 2,090 miles, and 126 hours of running completing 749 miles; a total of 371 hours and 2,953 miles, not including time on my core and upper body. I averaged 12.4 hours per week in the three sports taking one day off each week, with the peak week totaling 21 hours.A total of 325 workouts in 30 weeks.    

What is your best memory of the competition?  It was about mile 16 of the run that I met an angel. His name is Ron Ottaway and he is 72 years old. We struck up conversation but soon it was evident we were to become Ironman kindred spirits. He needed me and I needed him as the next 10 miles would be mentally tough. He wanted to qualify for Kona, the Hawaii World Championship in October. He had completed 35 Ironman races and won the World Championship in Hawaii two years ago in his age bracket. Together we approached the finish on the same outdoor speed skating rink that Eric Heiden set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. We finished hand in hand and I heard the announcer say Charlie Eaton is an Ironman.  

Will you do another Ironman?  First I need to recover from recent shoulder surgery as a result of an injury totally unrelated to my triathlon training. If you train well almost any fit person can accomplish such a feat. But the training takes a toll not only physically and mentally on the athlete but also on the family. At this time, I am not sure I can commit to the training. But I do have my sights on Ironman Switzerland, where my son Nate lives.  

Here are the results for our swimmers: